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Roland Daggett
Roland Daggett was an adversary of Batman. He made his debut appearance in Batman: The Animated Series as a corrupt and powerful businessman, and was voiced by Edward Asner. The President of Daggett Industries, a pharmaceutical company, Daggett was depicted as a large, physically imposing man with smoothed back reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. Inspiration He was similar in personality and function to Lex Luthor. It should also be noted that his look (and overall demeanor) bore a striking similarity to Norman Osborn as he originally appeared (minus the "Osborn Cornrows"). He was originally intended to be Max Shreck, Christopher Walken's character from Batman Returns, but it was decided instead to introduce a new character. Alongside crime boss Rupert Thorne, Daggett was one of the main recurring antagonists of the series who wasn't a member of the Rogue's Gallery, and was considered to be a possible forerunner to Batman Beyond villain, Derek Powers. History As crooked as most businessmen, Roland Dagget was as crooked as they got. He's Gotham City's Lex Luthor, only creepier and more deviant. Dagget tried to keep the facade as an honest business man, but many knew his true persona, as a crooked, and double-dealing man. Dagget was even responsible for creating Clayface, and infecting Catwoman with a near fatal disease. Daggett also unsuccessfully tried to spread a disease for which he only had the antidote for. That would have made Dagget a very rich and powerful man, but his plan was found out and he went bankrupt. He went to prison, while his lawyers tried to find a loophole that would free him. ''Feat of Clay Part I Daggett Industries developed "Renuyu", a face cream which enabled the user to modify their face to their desire, and which Daggett was secretly going to sell through direct marketing since it would be rejected by stores for its addictive qualities. The only man addicted to the compound was Matt Hagen, an actor who was disfigured in a car accident and who committed crimes (in disguise) for Daggett in return for supplies of the formula. After Hagen botched an attempt to steal incriminating evidence from and kill Lucius Fox, Daggett plotted to have Hagen killed. He cut off Hagen's Renuyu supply, knowing that he would come to steal some. The plan worked, and Daggett's henchmen Raymond Bell and Germs force-fed untested fluids down his mouth and left him for dead. However, Hagen did not die. Instead, the chemicals morphed Hagen into a vengeful shapeshifter named Clayface. ''Feat of Clay Part II Daggett made preparations to take over Wayne Enterprises, by sending his henchman Germs to kill Fox in the hospital (although Batman foiled him). At the same time, Daggett went on television on the talk show Gotham Insider where he hoped to advertise the Renuyu as a mere face cream, but Clayface ambushed him during the show and attempted to kill him after he mentioned the addictive effects of Renuyu when he was disguised as a woman. Batman intervened and managed to stop Clayface (who secretly escaped by faking his death) and subdued Daggett. Daggett was mentioned to have been taken into custody after that. Appointment in Crime Alley In that episode, Daggett's main objective was to destroy Crime Alley with explosives with the help of arsonists Crocker and Nitro and blame it on the rupturing of an underground gas line, with the alibi of giving a speech about developing a mall somewhere else. Crime Alley, however, happened to be the very place where Batman's parents were gunned down when he was a child. Batman, after he received information from a man who witnessed Crocker and Nitro tie up Dr. Leslie Thompkins (who saw them planting explosives) in a building rigged to explode, managed to disconnect some of the bombs, which reduced the number of destroyed buildings. Batman berated Daggett in public view about his hands in the explosion, and told him that he would be sent to prison once Crocker and Nitro confessed. Daggett, however, played his wits right, denied any involvement, and gave the image as a pillar of the community. Crocker and Nitro were taken to prison while Daggett went free. Although Batman was enraged that Daggett got away scot-free, Dr. Thompkins consoled Batman to let it go, and that "Daggett won't escape the law forever", a prediction that came true in the next episode where he was the villain. Cat Scratch Fever Daggett's next and possibly biggest scheme was to release a virus in Gotham that would make innocent cats and dogs into bloodthirsty predators, with the help of Professor Milo. Since Daggett had the only antidote, it would make Daggett not only a fortune, but also a public hero. Daggett hired two people named Paunch and Jessy to pose as stray catchers and capture as many stray animals as they could. One of them turned out to be Isis (the cat of Selina Kyle/Catwoman) who took matters into her own hands and investigated despite Batman's warnings that Selina could be arrested for probation violation and that Daggett was a dangerous man. However, Batman eventually came to Catwoman's aid, mostly because of his obvious personal concern for her. Batman and Catwoman managed to put an end to Daggett's scheme, but that time they successfully acquired implicating evidence which went public. The newspaper had a headline that stated that Daggett had been arrested for medical fraud (though he quoted underneath his picture "I'm Innocent). Daggett was forced to declare bankruptcy, presumably because the virus conspiracy had ruined his company's reputation. ''The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne Daggett was only mentioned in that episode, although it was established that he had connections to Dr. Hugo Strange. ''Batgirl Returns In a desperate attempt to restore his image and company, Daggett stole a Jade Cat from a museum and hoped to sell it on the black market. Naturally, the police targeted Catwoman. Catwoman worked with Batgirl and tracked Daggett to an old lab (the same lab where Matt Hagen was turned into Clayface). Daggett's men captured Batgirl and Catwoman, who managed to escape with Robin's help. Catwoman resolved to kill Daggett there and then by dropping him into a vat of acid, but Batgirl and Robin convinced her otherwise, and she spared him. Daggett was then finally sent to prison. Although it was stated that his army of lawyers constantly tried to find a loophole that would set him free, Daggett was not seen or mentioned again in DCAU until The New Batman Adventures comic, Batman Gotham Adventures. Trivia *Daggett and Daggett Industries were featured in The Dark Knight Rises, although Daggett's first name was changed to John instead of Roland. Some fans believed that Roland was probably John's father. Daggett, Roland Category:Deceased Characters Category:Batman: The Animated Series